


bluegold

by everythingsadream



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Homophobia, M/M, Soulmates, Spin the Bottle, azula and zuko are somewhat functioning siblings, classic high school party scene, individual chapters will have trigger warnings, ozai is still a terrible father, warning this is cheesy as hell
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:35:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25277017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everythingsadream/pseuds/everythingsadream
Summary: a cliche soulmate au where everybody sees in black and white until the first time they touch their soulmatewhen a game of spin bottle reveals that sokka and zuko are meant for each other, both their worlds change.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 69
Kudos: 311





	1. grayscale

**Author's Note:**

> in which some idiots have a party
> 
> also, some things y'all need to know:  
> 1\. aang and toph are freshmen, katara, azula, suki, and ty lee are sophomores, sokka is a junior, and zuko and mai are seniors  
> 2\. zuko and azula's last name is ozai. if their dad's first name actually turns out to be relevant i'll make something up lol  
> 3\. zuko wears glasses and does not have his scar (yet)

"So tell me _why_ we're hosting this party, again?"

Azula rolled her pale eyes, turning away from Zuko and back to the mirror to finish putting on her eyeliner. "Do we need a reason? It'll be fun, and Father's not in town to tell us we can't. Besides, it'll show the rest of Ty Lee's friends that I -- I mean, that we -- aren't are uptight as everybody thinks we are."

Zuko wanted to be annoyed at his sister, but he couldn't find it in him once he heard the defiance in her voice. It was obvious that Azula hadn't adjusted as well to their new public school as Zuko had. The move out of their old private school had come after a particularly nasty press release had accused their father, Senator Ozai, of not really backing a public education bill he'd been trying to pass, calling him elitist and two-faced (he was elitist and two-faced, as far as Zuko was concerned, but that was besides the point). Zuko actually thought Azula would fit in better at this new school than he did, but so far, that really didn't seem to be the case. Sure, she'd made friends with the captain of the cheer squad and one of the smartest girls in the whole school, but Zuko heard the things that were whispered about her in the hallways. Everybody seemed to alternately make fun of her and be utterly freaked out by her. She tried so hard to be cool, but it always came off a little bit wrong. A little bit fake. Zuko preferred to just keep his head down and stay out of everybody's way, so he fared a lot better. Still, he understood Azula's desire for popularity, and though she would never accept it, part of him wanted to help in some way.

If that meant going along with this random-ass party, then so be it.

Azula turned away from the mirror and back toward Zuko, looking him up and down. "Is that what you're going to wear?" She asked, tilting her head to one side and raising an eyebrow.

Zuko grit his teeth and looked down at his outfit -- black jeans and a button-down shirt that the tag at the store had told him was red, not that he could see it. "What's wrong with it?" He asked.

"It's too formal," Azula said immediately. "We're just a bunch of teenagers hanging out. It's not like it's a proper dinner party for Father or anything. A t-shirt or something would look better than the shirt you've got on now."

Now it was Zuko's turn to roll his eyes. "If I thought this was a legit dinner party, I'd be in a suit. I'm not changing," he scoffed. When he leaned further into the bathroom to look in the mirror, though, it occurred to him that he did look a little stiff. Frowning, he unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and rolled up the sleeves. "Here, is this any better?" He asked.

But before Azula could answer, the doorbell rang. "Ah! That's probably Mai and Ty Lee. Come on!" Azula hurried out of the bathroom and down the stairs, leaving Zuko alone. With a sigh, he took one last look at his reflection, adjusted his glasses, and followed her.

Zuko actually really liked Azula's friends, especially Mai. She was tall and serious-looking, with a low voice and very shiny hair. She wasn't very talkative, but she was in most of Zuko's classes, so he knew exactly how smart she was, always highest scorer on tests and the first person to finish the books they had to read for English. Apparently, she'd entered some big poetry competition last year and won. Out of curiosity, Zuko had gone looking for the poem she entered and actually managed to find it. It was definitely a good poem, all about how bored Mai was with life in their little town and her longing to escape the watchful eye of her parents. Zuko could sympathize. 

Ty Lee was Mai's polar opposite. She was the quintessential cheer captain -- energetic, bubbly, athletic. By the time Zuko got downstairs, she was already talking Azula's ear off about some drama that had happened at practice the day before, her thick braid swaying left and right as she gestured emphatically about a point she was making in her story. Zuko normally couldn't stand people that hyper, but he didn't mind Ty Lee. There was something so genuinely _nice_ about her. It was obvious that she genuinely cared about everybody, even people like Azula, who could be so off-putting. 

"...but I still just can't believe that she would -- oh! Hi, Zuko!" Ty Lee cut herself off mid-rant to greet Zuko as he approached the girls, who were all hanging around by the door. He returned her grin and wave with a nod and a small smile. "I was just talking about the craziest thing that happened yesterday. So basically--"

Mai cleared her throat. "Maybe we should start setting things up for the party," She suggested, with a meaningful glance at Ty Lee.

"Right. Sorry," Ty Lee giggled. Zuko was surprised to see Azula smile a little at her as she stepped back to let her friends further into the house.

"So we're going to be setting up mostly in the living room, but there are some snacks and things in the kitchen that we need to get ready, too," Azula explained. The smile on her face grew wider, a little mischievous. "Tonight is going to be fun."

~~~~~

"I still don't see why I'm even coming to this, I'm just gonna drop you guys off and go."

"You're coming to this, Sokka, because I refuse to let you mope around the house alone when you could be out actually having fun!" Katara's answer was snappier than it needed to be, Sokka thought. Besides, he could think of a lot of things that were more fun than going to a stranger's party with his little sister and her friends. 

But he knew Katara was just trying to be nice. After all, Sokka had been pretty miserable lately. His best friend, Yue, had had to move suddenly a few weeks ago. Something about her dad's job. She was over 2,000 miles away now, and even though they texted and Facetimed constantly, it just wasn't the same. Sokka missed her terribly. He had other friends, of course, but Yue was really something special. He knew they weren't soulmates, but he might even have loved her.

"So, wait, who's hosting it, again?" Aang asked from the backseat of Sokka's ancient SUV. Speaking of soulmates. Katara and Aang had found each other during the second week of the latter's freshman year, and they'd been inseparable ever since. Sokka liked to tease his sister about the fact that she was destined to end up with the dorky little underclassman, but he couldn't help but feel jealous. Not many were lucky enough to find their soulmate so quickly. Besides, Sokka was an artist at heart. He wanted to be able to see in color. He remembered that for Aang and Katara's first date, he'd taken them to an art museum. On the drive home, Katara hadn't been able to stop crying about this one painting she'd seen of a sunset.

The sunset was visible now as Katara answered Aang's question, a slow gradient of charcoal to silver as the sun drew close to the horizon. "One of Ty Lee's friends, that new girl Azula." Sokka was surprised to hear distaste in his younger sister's voice. Katara liked everyone.

Aang's friend Toph picked up on it too, leaning toward the front seat and poking Katara in the arm. "So the rumors about her are true, then? I've heard she was totally crazy." There was glee in Toph's voice as she spoke, which didn't surprise Sokka half as much as Katara's reaction. Toph was always looking for a fight somewhere. 

"I mean, maybe crazy's the wrong word, but she's definitely...well, I don't even know. Something about her freaks me out," Katara said. "Like, the way she talks, I get the sense that she was never around other people until she came to this school. Like she was some kind of shut-in. And she gets angry really easily. I saw her snap a pen in half once because our math teacher told her her answer to a question was wrong. A pen! She got ink all over the place and the teacher made her leave. It was really weird."

"Sounds crazy to me," Toph snorted. 

"Yeah, seriously, I'm just gonna drop you guys off," Sokka started, but Katara shook her head.

"No way! Come on, I was just being dramatic about Azula. I'm sure she's not all that bad if you actually get to know her. It's not like she'd start a fight at a party she's throwing. Besides, pretty much all the cheerleaders are coming because of Ty Lee, so Suki'll be there."

Sokka sighed. "Yeah, I know. She texted me about it yesterday. Okay, I'll stay." It would be good to see Suki. She and Yue and always been close, so Sokka knew her pretty well, but since she was a sophomore and he was a junior, they didn't get the chance to talk in school that much.

Katara smiled triumphantly. "Good."

They pulled up to the house a few minutes later. "This place is _huge_!" Aang yelled, which made Katara giggle and Toph roll her eyes.

"Honestly, did you forget Azula's dad is a senator? Why are you surprised she's rich?" Toph asked dryly. "Besides, it looks just like every other house to me." Toph chuckled at her own blindness joke and took off her seatbelt, opening the door as soon as Sokka was parked. "Alright! Which way to this party?"

Sokka sighed to himself as he got out of the car. No matter what happened, at least tonight wouldn't be boring.

~~~~~

Zuko stared at the can of beer in his hand, feeling stupid. All around him, the party was in full swing. Music that he didn't like was pouring from a speaker Mai had brought, the bass pounding in a way that made Zuko's head hurt. A very odd mix of kids filled the room before him; Ty Lee's cheer squad and Mai's friends from various artsy clubs each occupied different corners of the room, and a few random seniors that Zuko was semi-friendly with lingered in the spaces between. Azula was keeping herself close to Ty Lee and looking very on edge. Zuko himself was leaning against the wall by the stairs, a little ways away from Mai. He felt like he probably looked weird just standing there alone, but he wanted to keep an eye on his sister. Besides, he didn't mind people-watching. He barely knew anybody anyway, so it would probably be weirder if he tried to start up a conversation with anybody.

The door opened and four more kids walked inside. Three of them were strangers: a pretty, long-haired girl in light-colored dress and a choker, a boy with a buzzcut and a rather goofy smile on his face, and a tiny, scowling girl who was holding onto the other girl's arm. The fourth, a taller boy with a ponytail, looked vaguely familiar. It took Zuko a moment to figure out where he knew him from. He was often in the bleachers when Azula dragged Zuko to Ty Lee's practices, cheering for a girl Zuko knew named Suki. For the life of him, though, Zuko could not remember the guy's name.

He edged closer to Mai, keeping his eyes on the newcomers. "Any idea who they are? That one guy looks familiar," he asked.

Mai narrowed her eyes a little as she looked at the four of them. "The taller guy? His name's Sokka. He was in my poetry club for a little bit. I think that's his sister Katara next to him, and the other guy must be Aang. They're those two kids who found out they were soulmates at the beginning of the year, remember?"

Zuko did remember. The whole school had been buzzing. It was always pretty exciting when something like that happened nearby.

"And then that real little one is Toph. I heard somebody say that she's blind, but I'm not sure if it's true," Mai continued. "Why'd you ask me, anyway?"

"I told you, the one guy looked familiar. I just thought it might be awkward to introduce myself to them now," Zuko answered. Mai rolled her eyes.

"You're one of the hosts, it's your job to introduce yourself to people. Go talk to them, weirdo, Azula's busy." There was no real scorn in Mai's voice as she said it, but Zuko was still embarrassed. He wanted to say more to her, but she'd already turned away. Swallowing a sigh, he started toward the newcomers.

"Uh, hey, guys," He greeted as he approached, still feeling like an idiot. He was still holding his unopened can of beer. That only made him feel dumber, so he set it down on a nearby end table. All of them except Toph turned to look at him. "So...welcome to the party. We have beer and stuff, some of the girls on the cheer squad brought it. And snacks. That's all in the kitchen, and I think we have pizza on the way, too. So, um, help yourself?"

Sokka smiled faintly, which made Zuko's face grow warm. Oh, god. This kid definitely thought he was an idiot. But when he opened his mouth to speak, instead of making fun of him, all he said was, "Thanks. You're Zuko, right?"

"Yeah. Your name's Sokka, isn't it? I've seen you--" Suddenly it felt weird to say he'd seen Sokka at cheer practice. "I've seen you around, I think," he quickly corrected. Toph raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Katara and Aang exchanged a look. Sokka didn't seem bothered by Zuko's floundering, though.

"Yep, that's me," he chuckled. "Nice to officially meet you. Do you know my sister and her friends?" He asked.

"Not well. It's nice to meet you all, too--"

"Yeah, yeah, we're all friends now, where did you say the snacks were?" Toph piped up. Zuko couldn't help but laugh. Something about the girl's bluntness made him think that she and Azula would get along. 

"They're back in the kitchen, I can show you if you want," he offered.

"That's okay. Thanks, though," Katara spoke before Toph could, walking further into the house with the other girl. Aang quickly followed them, leaving Sokka and Zuko alone for the briefest of moments. Then, Sokka gave Zuko another small smile and went after his friends.

Zuko stared after him until the next group of arriving partgoers pushed him out of the way.

~~~~~

Zuko's kitchen was large, and better-lit than the living room. Sokka found himself squinting a little at the sudden brightness as he found his friends by the kitchen island. Toph was perched on the counter, munching on a handful of Doritos. Aang was rooting through a cooler, and Katara was on a stool beside him. None of them seemed to notice when Sokka joined them.

"Ugh. When Zuko said they had beer here, I didn't think he meant they _only_ had beer," Aang groaned, finally standing up and shutting the cooler. "All I want's a Sprite."

Sokka looked down. At his feet was another cooler labeled "soda". He leaned down and opened it, and it didn't take him long to spot a can of Sprite. He silently slid it across the counter to Aang, who immediately brightened. "You're a wizard, Sokka," he declared as he popped the can open. 

"Speaking of Zuko, though, what's his deal?" Toph suddenly asked. "I thought this was Azula's party. That whole 'welcome to the party' thing he did was kind of weird."

Katara shrugged. "Well, I know Azula's got a brother who's a senior. I guess maybe that's him. They certainly look alike."

"Really? I don't see it," Sokka said. He'd seen Azula around enough to remember her face pretty well. Her hair was straighter than Zuko's, and her face was rounder. Plus, she just looked...meaner. Something about the way she carried herself made it easy to believe she was a politician's daughter. Zuko just seemed shy and kind of dorky. Cute, in a way. Maybe it was the glasses.

"I mean, thinking back, the way he talked made it seem like this was his house, so I could believe it," Toph conceded. 

"Who we talking about?" A new voice from the doorway asked. Sokka turned and smiled at the newcomer, a lighter-haired girl wearing dark lipstick. She walked further into the kitchen, smiling back at Sokka and leaning against the counter beside him.

"Hey, Suki," he greeted. They'd seen each other already, but one of her cheerleader friends had pulled her away right as Sokka got to the party, so they hadn't actually talked. "We were just talking about Zuko. He is Azula's brother, isn't he?"

Suki nodded. "Yup. He's pretty nice, actually. I'm surprised you haven't talked to him more. You and him both come to our practices a lot. I think Azula might have a bit of a crush on Ty Lee, so she drags him there pretty much every day." She smirked to herself, leaning down to grab a beer from the cooler. "You want one?" She asked Sokka.

He shook his head. "Nah, I'm driving," he said. He wasn't much of a big drinker, anyway. Every so often, when Yue was still in town, the three of them would get drunk or high together at one of their houses when their parents weren't home. But it was just something to do, and Sokka knew his limits. He hated hangovers more than pretty much anything else, so he always made sure he stayed sober enough to avoid them.

Suki shrugged. "Suit yourself," she said simply, popping the tab on her can and taking a sip. "So does anybody know what people are gonna, like...be doing here? It doesn't seem like anybody's dancing, so are we all just kind of hanging out?"

As if on cue, the music in the living room quieted and Azula's sharp voice rang out across the house. "Everybody! We're going to have a game of Spin the Bottle, so come in here!" She called. Sokka and Suki exchanged a look.

"I guess that answers that," Toph quipped, brushing Dorito dust off her hands.

~~~~~

Spin the Bottle? Honestly, sometimes it was hard for Zuko to remember his sister had ever left middle school. Still, he sat down on her left without complaint as the guests formed a huge circle across the living room floor. Mai was on his other side, and she suddenly seemed to have trouble meeting his gaze. Weird. There were two pairs of soulmates at the party, Katara and Aang and a pair of juniors that were friends with Ty Lee. Both couples decided to sit out of the game. Toph sat out, too, taking a seat beside Aang outside of the circle. Suki and Sokka were sitting together, whispering about something. Sokka laughed. Zuko found himself wondering what they were talking about.

Azula spun the bottle (which was really an empty can of orange soda) first. She landed on some football player named Chan. She kissed him quickly and pulled away much faster than he did, which was funny. Why was she so nervous? The game was her idea. 

The bottle moved to the right, which meant Zuko would be the last one to spin. Fine by him. He watched each person spin, smirking at some of their reactions. Some people barely even let their lips touch the other person's, while some pairs practically have to be pulled apart so the next person could spin. Suki must have laughed for a solid minute when she landed on Sokka, before leaning in to kiss him hard. When they broke away, Sokka was laughing, too, and he had a smudge of her lipstick on the corner of his mouth. Zuko had to keep reminding himself not to stare at that smudge.

A few minutes later, it was Zuko's turn. He could hear Azula and Ty Lee giggling behind him as he grabbed the can and spun it. The first time, he did it wrong and ended up just pointing it at himself, which made everybody around him laugh. Gritting his teeth, he tried again. When the can stopped, he looked up to see it pointing straight at Sokka. 

The room was quiet for a moment. "Um...should I spin again?" Zuko asked, though he wasn't quite sure who he was asking. A girl had landed on another girl earlier, and she had spun again so she could kiss a guy.

Sokka blinked. "I mean...I don't mind," he said softly.

Zuko's face turned hot. "Okay," he mumbled. He scooted forward awkwardly until he was right in front of Sokka. Trying to ignore the way his heart was slamming against his rib cage, he closed his eyes and leaned forward.

This wasn't Zuko's first kiss, but it was definitely the nicest. He managed to relax, leaning into Sokka and letting the other boy rest a hand against his face. His hand was warm and soft. Zuko's heart rate slowed.

That is, until he opened his eyes to pull away.

He found himself staring into Sokka's eyes, which made him jerk away and let out a yell. Sokka's reaction was essentially the same. Instantly, Zuko went from relaxed and actually happy to more panicked than he'd ever been in his life.

Because Sokka's eyes weren't gray anymore. They were a strange, vivid color that made Zuko feel cold and warm at the same time, a color that reminded him somehow of swimming pools and ice and the sky all at once. 

The world around him was suddenly in full color. And that could only mean...

"Holy shit," Sokka breathed. "You're my soulmate."


	2. afterparty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> where the night went after sokka and zuko's discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> buckle your seatbelts my beautiful bastards it is ANGST TIME
> 
> content warnings: mentions of internalized homophobia and conversion therapy
> 
> things to know:  
> 1\. this is set in a coastal town bc beach scenes >>>>>>>  
> 2\. senator ozai's first name is jiro

"Holy shit. You're my soulmate."

The words were out of Sokka's mouth before he could stop them, and he instantly regretted them. Zuko looked freaked out enough as it was. He was frozen to the spot he was sitting on, his mouth hanging slightly open and his eyes almost perfectly round. Why couldn't Sokka have said something a little more sensitive? Lowering his voice to a whisper, he asked, "Hey, are you okay?"

"I...um..." Zuko pulled away from him, staring around the circle. "Everybody's looking at us."

Sokka was suddenly conscious of all the eyes on him, countless pinpoints of colors he didn't know the names of yet. Katara's hands were clapped over her mouth, and Aang's smile was enormous as he whispered to Toph, filling her in on parts of the event that she might have missed. Suki was grinning, but Sokka thought she looked a little bit crestfallen, though he could have been imagining it. Mai's arms were crossed as she studied Zuko. Azula's expression was completely unreadable.

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" Sokka asked, still staying as quiet as possible. Everybody around them was starting to whisper among themselves, some people pulling out phones to take pictures or text people who weren't at the party. 

Abruptly, Zuko stood up. His expression was still fearful, but now it had hardened in some way. "Actually, I think you should leave," he answered. "I just...I have some stuff to think about." With that, he turned and practically ran up the stairs, leaving Sokka sitting alone in the middle of the circle. Somebody laughed. Out of the corner of his eye, Sokka saw Katara turn to glare at them. 

Gradually, the conversations around him grew louder and the circle started to break apart. Some people came up to Sokka to congratulate him or sympathize about the way Zuko had reacted, but mostly he was left alone. It could have been ten minutes or several years before Katara, Aang, Suki, and Toph finally walked up and sat down beside him. "So..." Toph started, her voice uncharacteristically soft, "what do you wanna do?"

What did he want to do? What could you do, when the person the universe has fated you to spend your life with literally runs away when he finds out the two of you are meant to be? When he's so terrified that he can't even stand to have you in his house? When he leaves you so curious and confused and alone in your newly-colored world, without so much as giving you his freaking phone number so you might talk to him later and get some answers to all the questions you have? 

"He told us to leave. So I guess we should leave," Sokka answered flatly, getting to his feet and taking a last look up the stairs.

Katara and Suki each held one of his hands as they all walked out the door.

~~~~~

Zuko shut himself in his room and did what he always did when he was feeling stressed out: he lit a candle.

He'd always thought fire was beautiful, but now that he could actually see all the different colors in it? _Wow_. It seemed impossible that the tiny flame could hold so many different hues. He stared at it for a moment, mesmerized, then pulled out his phone and searched up a picture of a color wheel so he could figure out what he was actually looking at. The colors on the wheel were more saturated than the ones in the flame, so it was hard to tell, but Zuko was pretty sure he was looking at yellow, edged with orange-red and blue. He smiled, momentarily amused by his little research project, but anxiety quickly flooded him again as he remembered why it was that he was even able to see these colors in the first place.

He flopped down onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Sokka was his soulmate. _Another guy_ was his soulmate. Up until tonight, Zuko hadn't even known for sure that that was possible. His father always told him that there was a scientific explanation for soulmates; it was nature's way of determining who was the most biologically compatible, who could make the strongest offspring. If that were really the case, he reasoned, then it didn't make sense for two men or two women to be fated to be together. Zuko had always found guys attractive, but it's not like he ever acted on it. He figured he'd meet his soulmate, and it would be a girl, and he'd think she was beautiful and they'd fall in love and stuff, and he'd stop thinking about guys that way. Bam. Happy ever after.

And yet, a part of him had always thought maybe it could happen. There was this one author he loved, back from right after the whole soulmate system had come to be, and it was rumored she'd ended up with another woman. There was an actor Azula used to like who claimed his male best friend was his soulmate. It wasn't something that happened to a lot of people, if the rumors were true, but it wasn't totally out of the question. And now, Zuko himself was proof of that.

He thought about calling his uncle. Iroh was full of great advice, and he knew so many people. Surely he'd be able to help Zuko understand why this had happened and if it was really okay. But right then, he was just too emotionally drained to even think about voluntarily talking to somebody else.

So of course that's when Azula walked into his room. "I figured I should probably come check on you," she said by way of greeting, opening his door without knocking. "You've had a pretty big night, after all." Her tone was flippant, but there were traces of real concern in her eyes.

Zuko thought about being snarky in response, but he was too tired. "What am I gonna tell our father?" He asked, talking to himself just as much as he was to Azula.

Azula shrugged. "It's not like you have to tell him. After all, I didn't when I found out my soulmate was Ty Lee."

Zuko sat bolt upright, staring at his sister. "You -- _what_?" 

Azula smirked. "Oh, come on, you didn't honestly think we were just friends, did you? I became interested in _cheerleading_ for her." Azula pulled a face. "But I knew what Father would say if he found out. He'd say it was some sort of anomaly, and he'd ship me off to some shady 'doctor' across the country to have the mistake fixed. You know he'll do the same to you if you tell him."

Zuko knew it was true. His father had defended those doctors before in front of the Senate, when some of his colleagues were trying to pass some bill regarding ethics in science. Zuko had done some research on them that night, and what he had found gave him chills. The doctors headed small programs across the world, in which patients attended therapy sessions every day for hours on end and were given medicine that would "cure" their connection to their soulmate. Most of the sources Zuko had found suggested that the drugs did nothing to prevent actual attachment to one's soulmate. They merely induced colorblindness. The bill that had been introduced would have outlawed them, but it didn't pass.

"You won't tell him about me, will you?" Zuko asked Azula. He couldn't bear to even consider the possibility that Azula would do that to him, but then again, she hadn't trusted him enough to tell him about Ty Lee. Maybe that was a sign that he shouldn't trust her, either. 

To his relief, though, Azula looked shocked that he'd even mentioned it. "Zuko, of course not. Come on, I'm better than that."

"Okay. Good," Zuko sighed. "I'm sorry. I just had to be sure. And you know I would never tell him about you, either, right?"

Azula just huffed and turned away, walking back toward the door. "Whatever. I'm going back to the party."

She marched back downstairs, and Zuko lay back down. He couldn't tell his father. He knew that for sure now. And it's not like he had to keep his secret for a long time, just until he went off to college next fall. Then, maybe he could actually be with Sokka properly. And he could still talk to him and stuff before that, so long as his dad didn't get suspicious. He picked up his phone to text the other boy, then sighed and slapped a hand to his forehead.

"Stupid. I forgot to give him my phone number," he mumbled, shutting his eyes.

After a moment of berating himself for being an idiot, Zuko sat up and took one last look at the candle before blowing it out. Then he stood up and left his room. He may as well go back to the party.

~~~~~

Sokka lay on a towel beside the ocean, listening to the waves and staring up at the sky. It was late, probably well past midnight. His friends were all back at his house, but he'd told them he needed some time alone to think. He'd tried just going to his room, but it was too bright in there. Too colorful.

The beach was better -- it looked almost normal at night, with its silvery sand and glittering, velvet-dark sky and water. But even these looked a shade brighter than normal. Sokka remembered reading a poem that had described the night sky as "midnight blue". He supposed that was the color he was looking at now. Katara had pointed out a few colors to him before he dropped her and the rest of their friends off at his house, as some sort of distraction, he guessed. Aang's obnoxiously bright favorite hoodie was orange. Suki's lipstick was purple. Toph's signature headband was green. 

"What color was Zuko's shirt?" Sokka had asked Katara, his words coming out in an embarrassed mutter. He knew it was a stupid thing to ask, but it had been a nice color. It looked good on him. 

Katara had raised an eyebrow at his question, but answered him without asking why he wanted to know. "It was red."

Sokka had decided, then and there, that red was his favorite color. 

He sighed as his thoughts turned to Zuko. What had he done wrong to make the other boy so afraid? Was he really going to be stuck with a soulmate who hated him? He didn't even know if that was possible, but hey, up until he'd met Aang, he didn't know if it was possible for kids that young to find their soulmates, either. Part of him wanted to head back to the party so he could apologize.

He needed advice. Barely even thinking, he picked up his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he found Yue's number, entered under the name "yu :p". He stared at her contact picture for a moment, smiling as he recognized the color of her shirt as purple; it was a paler shade than Suki's lipstick, but still very nice. He tapped the Call button and put the phone on speaker mode, laying it on the towel beside his head.

Yue picked up on the second ring. "Socks!" She greeted cheerfully. "What's up?"

Sokka smiled at the nickname, closing his eyes. "Hey, Yue. How's it going?" He tried to sound casual, but he could tell it wasn't working. He could practically see Yue's concerned little frown through the phone.

"Is everything okay?" She asked gently.

"Ugh. Not really," Sokka began, picking his head up briefly so he could take out his hair tie. It was getting uncomfortable to lay on his ponytail. He told Yue the story in full, from getting to the party to the game of Spin the Bottle to Zuko running away. He told her how rejected he felt, and how he had no idea what to do next. When he was done, Yue was quiet.

"You said he was a Congressman's son? What's his name?" She asked after a moment. Sokka blinked, wondering what that had to do with anything.

"Um, Zuko Ozai. But why--"

"Oh my god, Ozai? He's _Jiro Ozai's_ son? Jesus, no wonder he got so freaked," Yue exclaimed. Now Sokka was really confused. He considered himself to be pretty smart, but he didn't have a clue about politics. History had always been his worst subject in school -- he was much more into either really artsy or really sciencey stuff. Yue's dad was this bigshot lobbyist, though, so her whole family was pretty politically knowledgeable.

"Yu, that means literally nothing to me. I can't keep up with government like you do," Sokka chided her gently.

"I know, I'm sorry. Here, I'm sending you a link to an article now. It should explain a lot."

Sure enough, he got a text from Yue a moment later with a link to a post on the ACLU's website. The article was titled, "Denying the Universe - How Some Doctors Claim To Reverse the Effects Of Meeting Your Soulmate". As he read, Sokka grew steadily more horrified. This article described how some people believed it was wrong for two men or two women to be soulmates, a biological mistake. It explained the sadistic "correction" process these so-called doctors offered, and the attempt by Congress to try and outlaw it. Finally, it said why the attempt failed: because one outspoken Senator who believed was these doctors were doing was right had managed to rally enough support to kill the bill. That Senator was Jiro Ozai.

"That is...that's just so fucked up," Sokka said as he closed out of the article. On the other end of the phone, Yue snorted.

"Tell me about it. So I doubt it had anything to do with you, Socks. Zuko was probably just scared his dad would find out."

"I can see why. Poor guy," Sokka murmured. He was relieved, but at the same time, he felt worse than ever. His soulmate didn't hate him, but his father did. His powerful Congressman father who had the power to literally ruin lives, who would probably send his own son to one of these terrifying doctors if he ever found out what had happened tonight.

"Yeah. Seriously. I wish I still lived in your state so I could help vote that creep out of office once I'm eighteen," Yue growled. She ranted about corrupt politicians for awhile, but her and Sokka's conversation rapidly dissolved into gossip about the friends Yue had left behind at Sokka's school and funny things that she had noticed in her new town. They talked for hours, just as they had when Yue could actually come over to Sokka's house, until they eventually both fell asleep on the phone. 

The light woke Sokka up a few hours later. His phone was dead on the towel beside him, and the sky was absolutely ablaze. Everything was orange and the color of the sun, and the water shimmered a brilliant shade of red. Sokka grinned. So this was what a sunrise looked like. If it looked anything like a sunset, he could see why that painting had made Katara cry when she'd first started seeing colors.

But no tears came to Sokka's eyes. He stayed until the sky calmed, turning from the riot of sunrise colors to a beautiful, unbroken sheet of what Sokka could only assume was blue. Then, he shook the sand from his towel and headed back to his colors. His friends were probably worried. It was time to go home.

~~~~~

"You're so lucky Father won't be home from Washington until tomorrow."

Zuko groaned and opened his eyes to the sound of Azula's voice. The side of his face was pressed to the toilet seat, knocking his glasses askew in a way that made him feel dizzier than he already was. He straightened them and sat up, wincing at his stiff neck and the pounding in his head. He'd had way too much to drink last night in an attempt to forget his stress for a while. It had worked, but at what cost? Never again.

Azula stood over him with a glass of water and a frown on her face. "Seriously. Seeing you this hungover would just be another reason for him to murder you. Now, drink this," she set the glass of water down in front of him, "and get yourself cleaned up, and then you can help me clean the house if you don't feel like you're going to puke again." She left quickly, which amused Zuko. She pretended to be such a badass, but she'd always been so ridiculously squeamish.

Zuko stood shakily, picking up the glass of water and setting it on the edge of the sink. His reflection was shocking, and he knew Azula was right about their father murdering him if he were to see him like this. The shadows were so pronounced beneath his eyes that it looked like somebody had punched him in the face, his hair was rumpled beyond belief, and his skin was so pale that for a second Zuko wondered if his vision was somehow reverting back to black-and-white. Cringing, he looked away and opened the medicine cabinet, grabbing some Advil and downing it along with his whole glass of water. His head might as well be melting off his shoulders, but he didn't think he was going to throw up again, so he decided he'd better follow the rest of Azula's advice and get himself cleaned up so he could help with the chores.

A hot shower and a change of clothes later, Zuko actually felt like a person again. The Advil was starting to do its job, too, so he was almost cheerful as he made his way down the stairs. The damage wasn't as bad as he'd feared. Mostly there were just drink cans and crumbs everywhere. Somebody had gotten a tomato sauce stain on the sofa by eating pizza there, but Azula seemed to be handling that. Zuko grabbed a trash bag and started picking up trash.

"So, you and Ty Lee, huh?" Zuko had no idea what had possessed him to say it. He expected Azula to snap back at him with some cruel joke about Sokka and then continue working in silence, but to his surprise, she smiled. Faintly and a little bit bitterly, but still.

"Yes. Quite the odd couple, aren't we?" She remarked.

Zuko just shrugged. "I guess. When did you two figure it out?"

"Oh, our first day at this school," Azula answered. "She was showing me around campus, and she grabbed my hand, and...well, there we were. I managed to stop her from making a big scene about it and even told her to leave me alone forget it ever happened, but she insisted on sticking with me. That's how we got so close so fast. She's kind of...protective, I guess. But she knows we can't talk about our real relationship, so she makes a point at school of talking about how we're best friends."

"That sounds really nice," Zuko murmured. 

"It is." Azula's smile was a little softer now, and more genuine. She didn't say anything else, and Zuko didn't push it. It gave him a strange sort of relief to know that Azula was going through essentially the same thing he was, and he was happy Ty Lee seemed so understanding. He hoped Sokka would react similarly once he had the chance to properly explain the situation to him. Part of him thought the boy probably would; after all, after his initial outburst, he'd been so respectful of Zuko after the realization.

Things didn't seem as terrifying as they had last night. Of course, Zuko was still dreading his father's return from DC, but if he could get through tomorrow without incident, he knew everything would be okay. 


	3. a cosmic mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> essentially, shit hits the fan.
> 
> content warnings: abuse, violence, blood, brief hospital scene, mentions of conversion therapy and homophobia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things to know:
> 
> 1\. senator ozai married ursa (zuko and azula's mom) because his political team thought it would look better to his constituents if he appeared to have found his soulmate  
> 2\. toph's parents are much more absent here than they are in canon. she comes from this really powerful business family so they work a lot and stuff

Sokka slept late on the best of days, and today was not the best of days. After getting home shortly after sunrise (and promptly getting chewed out by Katara and Suki for being gone the whole night without calling either of them), he'd been so tired that he collapsed into bed without so much as changing out of his sand-covered party clothes. When he opened his eyes again, it was clearly well into the afternoon. 

He stretched and sat up, cringing at the gritty feeling of all the sand that had made its way into his sheets. Maybe he should've changed clothes, after all. Whatever. He stood, grabbing a hair tie and pulling his hair into a ponytail as he meandered downstairs. Toph and Aang were still in his living room, which was surprising, but not as surprising as the fact that Suki wasn't there with them.

"Hey, guys," Sokka greeted, stifling a yawn.

Aang jumped a little at the sound of his voice, but turned to grin at him once he recovered from the surprise. "Hey, Sokka," he answered. He nudged Toph to wake her up, since she seemed to be nodding off on the sofa next to him.

"I'm up! Is Sokka up?" Toph said too loudly, sitting bolt upright as if trying to conceal the fact that she'd been asleep. Sokka laughed.

"Yep, I'm up," he replied. "Where's Katara?"

At the sound of her name, Katara poked her head in from the kitchen. "There you are, lazybutt! I was just about to come wake you up," she said, crossing her arms. "There's coffee in here if you want some, by the way."

"Awesome. Thanks." Sokka ambled into the kitchen after her and grabbed his favorite mug, admiring how blue the wave design on it looked for a moment before pouring himself some coffee. Katara stood beside him in front of the counter, stirring cream into her own mug of coffee. It wouldn't have surprised Sokka if she hadn't slept at all. All his friends looked dead on their feet. All the ones that were here, anyway. "Did Suki leave?" He asked, dumping sugar into his mug.

Katara froze for a second, her spoon clinking loudly against the side of her mug as she stopped stirring. "Uh, yeah, she had cheer practice today, so she wanted to go home and get some sleep."

Weird. The cheer squad normally only had Saturday practices right before big games, and there were none of those this week. And anyway, Suki tended to skip practice if she had something going on that she'd deemed more important -- hell, she'd ditched it so she, Sokka, and Yue could go to a concert together not two months ago. He was pretty sure a close friend having a soulmate-related emotional crisis would be considered more important, but apparently not. So that stung.

Unless Katara was lying and Suki wasn't even at cheer practice. Which would suck even more.

Sokka tried to shake off the thoughts as he sat down in one of the peeling old leather armchairs in the living room, sipping his still-too-hot coffee. Katara sat on the sofa, on Aang's other side. With his three friends all facing him, Sokka couldn't help but feel like he was in front of some sort of panel of judges. Or maybe in a weird kind of group therapy session.

"So, uh...do you wanna talk about last night?" Katara asked. Yeah, a therapy session was definitely closer to this.

But Sokka really did want to talk about last night, and so he did. Mostly about his conversation with Yue, and the article she'd sent him. By the time he was finished, Katara was practically shaking with anger, Aang's eyes were wide and horrified, and Toph looked thoughtful in a way that normally meant she was planning something insanely destructive.

"Poor Zuko..." Aang said softly.

"Screw Senator Ozai! How could anybody support something so evil?" Katara raged.

"The real question is, how can we help get Zuko out of there?" Toph mused.

Everybody turned to look at Toph. "What do you mean, get him out?" Sokka asked. Toph was nodding to herself now, as if she already had a plan.

"I _mean_ , remove him from his clearly abusive home and help him go somewhere better," she answered Sokka haughtily, smirking in his general direction. "Come on, I run away all the time. Never permanently, obviously, but the point is I have experience. Also, I'm not sure if you guys know that cafe downtown, The Jasmine Dragon, but it's totally run by Senator Ozai's brother. So Zuko's already got somebody to stay with! And I've talked to him a couple times, and he doesn't seem nearly as crazy as his brother, so--"

"Toph, what are you even talking about?" Aang asked incredulously, getting to his feet.

"What do you mean, what am I talking about?" Toph yelled back, standing as well. "You don't want him to _stay_ in that house, do you?"

Aang huffed. "Of course not, but we can't just march up to Zuko and tell him we're taking him away from his home. His dad might notice if he just randomly vanishes, don't you think? He'd call the cops. Heck, he might call the FBI, who knows what he's capable of? He's in the government, so he might think somebody kidnapped Zuko as a political thing or something crazy like that. Not to mention, we barely know Zuko! Even if he wanted to leave, why would he want our help?"

"Uh, I don't know, because Sokka's his soulmate?" Toph scoffed, crossing her arms.

"That's true, but the rest of us are just random kids to him," Aang pointed out. 

"Well, yeah, but if we're _with Sokka_ \--"

"Okay, can we not get ahead of ourselves?" Sokka finally cut him. "Look, I sincerely doubt Zuko's planning on telling his dad about what happened last night, so there's no reason for his dad to try anything crazy. Maybe we should wait to make a plan until we know for sure he needs to get out of that house."

Katara had been oddly quiet the whole time, but now she looked up from her phone screen, a worried frown on her face. "Um, actually, maybe we should hear Toph out," she said. Something about her tone made Sokka's stomach sink.

Aang sat down beside her again and peered over to look at whatever it was she'd been reading on her phone, and his eyes went round again. "Oh, crap."

"What?" Sokka and Toph asked at the same time.

"Suki just sent me this post from a gossip magazine. Congressman's Son Believed To Have Found Soulmate, it's called," Katara explained. She started to read aloud. "Zuko Ozai, the son of local Senator Jiro Ozai, reportedly learned the identity of his soulmate at a party last night. Multiple social media posts show Ozai and another boy in the middle of a circle of people after what one partygoer revealed was a game of Spin the Bottle. Many of these posts had captions congratulating one or both of the boys or poking fun at the situation. A correspondent of our magazine in Washington, D.C. was able to contact Senator Ozai, who has been outspoken in his disbelief in the idea of same-sex soulmates. While Senator Ozai did not comment on if and how this discovery could affect his policies, he did announce that he is leaving the Senate session early in order to head back home and 'handle the situation'."

"When was that posted?" Sokka asked. Some tiny, irrational part of him hoped that the article was a few months old and fake, written by some bored idiot at the magazine company deciding to drum up some drama.

"A few hours ago," Katara answered.

A few hours ago? Sokka's blood turned to ice. Senator Ozai might already be home.

The four of them sat there for a moment in terrified silence. Toph finally broke it by stating the obvious: "This is really bad."

Her words seemed to move Sokka into action. He stood and headed for the end table by his front door, grabbing his car keys. "Toph, can you tell me more about your plan in the car? We're going to Zuko's house."

~~~~~

Zuko knew something was wrong the second his phone rang. His father never called him from Washington. It was with shaking hands that he pressed the Talk button, and his voice was soft and nervous as he said, "Hello?"

"I'm at the airport." His father's voice was clipped and abrupt, and Zuko's heart stopped. His father was leaving a Congress session early? He hadn't done that since Zuko's granddad had died. And he hadn't sounded this angry since Zuko's mother left them.

Zuko tried to sound casual as he responded. "Oh, that's...that's great! What time is your flight, do you think you'll be home for dinner? I could--"

"No, Zuko." Zuko shuddered at the ice in his father's voice. "I'm at the airport here. I'll be home in fifteen minutes. We need to talk."

Zuko tried to respond, but the call had already ended. His vision was starting to tunnel, and his breath was coming in gasps. His father knew. He knew about last night. Lord knows how he knew, but he did. Zuko was so, so dead.

He stumbled up the stairs and burst into Azula's room. She'd been painting her nails, and his sudden arrival made her spill red nail polish everywhere. "Zuko, look what you--!" She stopped when she saw the look on his face. "What happened?"

"He knows," Zuko answered, the words leaving him in a rush between breaths. His vision was so blurry at this point that he might as well not even be wearing his glasses, and his legs could barely hold him up. He felt as if he might throw up or pass out or have a heart attack, or maybe all three at once. He sat down shakily on Azula's floor, trying desperately to collect himself. Azula crossed the room to where he was and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, saying comforting things he couldn't hear. It had been a long time since he had had a full-on panic attack.

It seemed to take him years to calm down, but it can't have been more than fifteen minutes, because Zuko's father still wasn't home yet by the time he came back to himself. He was still scared beyond belief, but he had the beginnings of a plan starting to form in his head. Maybe he could just leave. Standing up suddenly, he turned and started to leave Azula's room. " 'm gonna go pack some stuff," he mumbled by way of an explanation. Azula didn't say anything in response, but he could feel her eyes on him all the way down the hallway.

Zuko had only thrown a few shirts, his phone, and its charger in his suitcase by the time the front door opened downstairs. "Zuko, get down here!" his father bellowed. For a split second, Zuko considered ignoring him, but that would only make everything worse. Steeling himself, he made his way down the stairs. He heard the lock on Azula's door click as he passed her room. "I don't blame you," he whispered under his breath to her, glancing at the doorknob before continuing on.

And then his father was there, staring so intently at a family picture hanging on the wall that he might have been trying to burn a hole in it. He didn't look away as Zuko walked into the room.

"Ordinarily, I'd just be mad you threw a party without my permission, but I have bigger concerns right now," his father said, his voice dangerously soft. Zuko didn't answer, and after a moment, his father spoke again. "So, is it true? You really believe he's your...he's the one?" The disdain poured into that one question nearly brought Zuko to tears, but his voice stayed steady as he answered.

"I don't just believe it, Father. It's the truth. He is my soulmate," he said as firmly as he could.

His father laughed, but Zuko had never heard a more mirthless sound in his life. He finally tore his eyes away from the picture to look at Zuko, and Zuko shrank away. "Now, Zuko, you've never been as smart as your sister, but you know as well as I do that that's impossible, right?"

"But it isn't!" Zuko burst, surprised by his own defiance. "There have been recordings of it happening all throughout history! And I can see colors now. Your tie is red, and the dress Mom is wearing in that picture you were looking at is the same color as the grass outside, and the vase by the front door is--"

"Enough!" His father roared. "Nothing you're saying is real!"

"Like you would fucking know!" The anger was flooding out of Zuko now, and suddenly he didn't care what his outburst might cost him later. "Mom wasn't even your soulmate! It's not like you can see in color!"

That touched a nerve. Zuko's father snarled, then drew back and slapped Zuko across the face. He stumbled, catching himself against the wall. He was definitely close to crying now, but he kept his chin raised, glaring at his father just as forcefully as he was glaring at him.

His father's voice was quiet again, but still full of venom. "It's true that your mother was not my soulmate, I'll give you that. But don't you _dare_ act like you know more about this than I do, because you don't. You are nothing more than a delusional child who thinks the rules of science, of nature, don't apply to him. You're sick, Zuko."

"I'm sick?" Zuko's voice was starting to shake now, but he pressed on. "So what? You gonna send me to one of your doctors? Brainwash me?"

His father hit him again, this time knocking Zuko off his feet. He cried out as his face hit the corner of the coffee table, shattering the left frame of his glasses and sending shards of glass into the area surrounding his eye. He didn't try to stand up again; he was way too dizzy and in pain. Something warm ran down his cheek. Absently, Zuko wondered if it was blood or tears.

"It's not brainwashing, it's simply correcting a mistake," his father said coldly. "You'll be given medicine to get rid of your hallucinations, and somebody will talk to you to help you better understand the actual science between soulmates. You'll realize how ridiculous this whole thing is."

"The colors aren't hallucinations," Zuko mumbled, but it was suddenly so hard to speak. So hard to keep fighting. "This is real."

"I don't want to hear it, Zuko. You're starting the program tomorrow, and that's final. I've already talked to a doctor in Virginia." His father started to walk away, but he hadn't gone more than three steps when a frantic knocking sounded against the front door.

"Hey, Zuko? Are you home?"

~~~~~

Sokka hopped out of the car and raced up the long driveway to Zuko's house, his heart catching in his throat when he spotted a shiny black SUV parked in the garage that hadn't been there on the night of the party. That must be Senator Ozai's car, he thought. Oh, God, what if something's already happened? What if I'm too late?

He caught himself against the front door and started pounding on it, Katara, Aang, and Toph coming up behind him. "Hey, Zuko?" He yelled. "Are you home?" Maybe Zuko had already left. Maybe it was all okay. He heard footsteps making their way toward the door, and for the briefest of moments he wondered if maybe Senator Ozai might actually have come to terms with the fact that Sokka and Zuko were meant to be together. Maybe Zuko was about to answer the door.

But no. Sokka found himself staring up into the unfriendly gaze of Senator Ozai. "Who are you?" He asked coolly.

"It doesn't matter," Toph answered sharply. "Is Zuko home?"

Before the Senator could answer, a low groan sounded from inside the house. The four friends all pushed past Senator Ozai, ignoring his protests. The sight that greeted Sokka nearly stopped his heart. 

Zuko lay huddled on the floor, his head down. A bright red stain marred the carpet below him, and it took Sokka a second to register that the stain was blood. Equal parts rage and fear filled him as he ran to Zuko and attempted to help him up.

"Wait, I recognize you," Senator Ozai said suddenly, advancing on Sokka. He looked pissed, and although Sokka considered himself pretty strong, he found himself worried about his odds if he ended up having to fight this guy. "You're..."

"Your son's soulmate, yes," Sokka cut him off, standing up and squaring his shoulders as he faced the Senator. "And he's coming with us. You got a problem with that?"

The Senator gritted his teeth and took another step toward Sokka, then hesitated. He glanced back toward the door, where Katara, Aang, and Toph were all waiting, and let out an exasperated sigh. "You've got ten minutes to get him out of my sight, and then I call the police. The lot of you are clearly lost causes. Have fun living a lie." With that, he stalked out of the living room, living Sokka and his friends alone with the barely-conscious Zuko.

"So you guys are gonna get his things?" Sokka asked, keeping his focus on their plan in an effort to keep himself from panicking. 

Toph nodded. "Leave it to us."

Sokka knelt beside Zuko again, propping himself up against the table. "Zuko. Zuko," he said, trying to get the other boy's attention. Zuko groaned, his non-bloodied eye opening halfway. "Where's your room? We're gonna get your stuff, okay? And then we're taking you to the hospital."

Zuko muttered something that sounded like "end of the hallway", which Sokka repeated to Katara as she led the way upstairs. "And could you grab a towel or something when you're up there? I think he's still bleeding." Now Sokka really regretted not changing out of his day-old clothes. He would've just used his shirt to stem the bleeding, but he didn't want to get sand in any of Zuko's injuries.

He eased Zuko's broken glasses off his face and slipped them into his own pocket for safekeeping. "Can you stand? We should get you to the car," he asked. Zuko just grunted and slung an arm around Sokka's shoulders in response. Carefully, Sokka looped an arm around his waist and helped him stand, half-guiding and half-carrying him to the car. 

"My head hurts," Zuko complained as Sokka helped him into the front passenger's seat, " 'n I can't see." 

"It's okay," Sokka assured him, though he grew more worried by the minute about how hurt Zuko was. "Once everybody else comes back out, we'll be on our way to the hospital. Just...stay awake, okay? You might have a concussion or something."

"Can I have my phone? I gotta talk to Iroh," Zuko said, his words coming out slurred.

As Sokka started to answer, the front door to the house swung open again. Katara and Aang exited the house, lugging a huge suitcase between them. Toph followed close behind, yelling something over her shoulder before grabbing for the doorknob so she could shut the door after them. In one hand, she carried a small gray towel, which she held out for Zuko as soon as the three of them reached the car. Sokka took it and pressed it carefully against Zuko's eye. "Can you hold that there for me?" Sokka asked him.

Zuko groaned in protest. "But Iroh..."

"Katara will text him for you, okay? She's got your phone," Sokka assured him. He glanced back at his sister as she climbed into the backseat, and she nodded back at him.

Katara pulled Zuko's phone from his suitcase and asked him for his password as Sokka climbed into the driver's seat. Zuko must not have remembered it, though, because eventually Katara just passed the phone forward briefly so he could unlock the phone with his thumbprint ID. By the time the phone was back in Katara's hands, they were on the road.

Sokka considered himself a pretty careful driver ordinarily, but right now that all went out the window. He was going twenty miles over the speed limit and rolling through stop signs, and he definitely ran at least one red light. The whole time, Toph asked Zuko random questions from the back seat. Sokka guessed she'd had the same idea he did about keeping Zuko awake.

They made it to the hospital in record time. Sokka parked crookedly and opened the car door, running over to open Zuko's door and help him out. Zuko was even more unsteady on his feet than before; he was so limp that Sokka could barely hold him up. Aang got out of the car and went to Zuko's other side, helping Sokka carry him into the lobby. Katara and Toph followed behind with his stuff.

A nurse who had been wheeling an empty wheelchair over to some storage area rushed over as soon as she saw Zuko. "What happened to him?" She asked, her voice sharp with concern.

"I...he was in some sort of fight, I guess he hit his head. He was wearing glasses, and they broke. I think his eye might've gotten cut," Sokka explained as quickly as he could, pulling the broken glasses from his pocket to show her. The nurse, whose nametag read "Song", pursed her lips and looked over to the reception desk, where the receptionist nodded and pressed a button Sokka couldn't see. A moment later, another nurse came into the lobby wheeling a gurney. Zuko left out a feeble noise as the two nurses gently pulled him away from Sokka and Aang and lifted him onto the gurney. For the briefest of moments, his cloudy gaze found Sokka's, and Sokka felt his heart twist.

He started to follow the nurses as they wheeled the gurney away, but Song stopped him. "Sorry. We can't let any visitors back with him," she said. 

"Please. I'm his soulmate." Sokka's voice cracked. Song just looked on sympathetically. "Aren't I supposed to be...I mean, can't I..." He trailed off, balling his hands into fists to stop them from shaking.

"The doctors are going to need room to work. We can't have anybody else there. If you want, you could leave your phone number with us so we could call you when you can stop by," Song offered. Sokka nodded numbly, letting her take down his contact information and wheel Zuko away. 

Katara hugged him tightly once Zuko was out of sight. "He's gonna be okay," she assured him softly. 

_How do you know?_ Sokka thought in response.

"Why don't we just go back to your house?" Toph suggested. "The nurse said she'd call when we can come back."

"I..." Sokka's voice caught. He took a second to clear his throat and steady his breathing. "I can't drive right now. I'm too..."

"I'll drive," Katara declared. Aang looked at her in disbelief. "What? I've got my permit, I'll be fine."

"Yeah, and maybe a nice car crash will take your mind off everything that just happened, eh?" Toph quipped, punching Sokka playfully in the shoulder blade (he assumed she'd been aiming for his arm). He forced a short laugh and nodded, and together they made their way back to the car.

The ride home was quiet, or at least, it was to Sokka. If people were talking, he didn't hear it. About halfway home, he felt something in his hand and looked down to realize he was still holding Zuko's glasses.

He stared blankly at the cracked remainder of the left lens for the rest of the drive home.


	4. azula alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a change in perspective.

Not that she'd ever tell anybody this, but Azula had never really put too much stock into the whole soulmate thing.

Everybody always went on about how _beautiful_ it was, how _poetic_ that two people were fated to be together from the very moment they were born. But fate was such a weird concept. Free will existed. People were in control of the places they went and the people they met. Surely every detail of the entire universe couldn't have been planned out from beginning to end; people were too complicated and unpredictable for that to happen. As a matter of fact, Azula genuinely kind of believed her father's whole "biological-purpose" shtick -- scientifically, it made sense that people had ideal life partners. In order for healthy children to be raised, they had to grow up in a healthy environment. The best way for that to happen was for the parents to be indisputably compatible. As for the same-sex thing, well, that was bound to happen sometimes. Plenty of other species did it. Penguins. Lions. You name it.

So Azula wasn't surprised when she found out her soulmate was another girl. She'd always found girls prettier and funnier and easier to talk to than guys. Of course she'd be most compatible with another girl. That was how this worked, right?

She was a little surprised that it was somebody like Ty Lee, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. They balanced each other, in a way, and Azula didn't care how stupid that sounded. And Ty Lee was just nice to be around. She was cheery without being fake, optimistic without being stupid, sincere without being too brutally honest. Azula was constantly trying to live life ten steps ahead, like she needed to predict what other people would do and prepare herself for it. That was hard to do with other people, but Ty Lee...they understood each other from the very beginning. But it wasn't because of fate or anything spiritual and weird like that. It was just a combination of biology and psychology proving that they were good together.

Which made the thought of them being forced apart by her psychotic father even scarier.

Azula shut her door as soon as her father came home. Then, after a moment, she locked it. It was rare for her father to take it out on both his children when he was only angry at one of them, but it wasn't unheard of. Beneath the too-fresh layers of paint and spackle and varnish, Azula's walls and furniture had the holes and scratches to prove it.

The conversation started off quiet, too quiet for Azula to hear unless she really pressed her ear against the door. What was her father saying? What was Zuko saying? Exactly how much trouble was her brother in?

Azula's eyes widened when Zuko started yelling. "You idiot," she whispered to herself. Honestly. He'd lived in this house even longer than Azula had. One would think that he would've learned by now to swallow his pride, to bite his tongue and say what their father wanted to hear. Didn't he know that he was only digging himself into a deeper hole right now? Azula wondered if she should go out there and slap some sense into him, but then she heard the unmistakable sound of her father's hand hitting Zuko. She tensed, cursing herself for the way she was thinking. At least maybe now Zuko would back down. She told herself he deserved it, for the way he'd been speaking. This was just what happened when he was disrespectful.

Azula's hands curled into fists when her brother's shaking voice drifted back up the stairs. "Shut up, shut up, shut up," she whispered, as if by some miracle her voice would carry back down to him. Her quiet chanting cut off abruptly when another striking sound came, followed by an almighty crash. Azula froze.

Then there were more voices, ones Azula only recognized vaguely. Footsteps pounded up the stairs, and a wild, panicked part of Azula's brain considered trying to barricade her door. The steps went right past her, though, into Zuko's room. That didn't ease her racing heart or swirling thoughts, though. All she could hear was that crash, over and over again.

He deserved it. He deserved it. He deserved it.

He couldn't keep his mouth shut. He should've spun again during Spin the Bottle. He should've tried harder to deny what had happened. This was all Zuko's fault.

 _But you're the one who threw the party_ , something deep inside Azula's mind whispered. _This isn't his fault, it's yours. And you know it._

Azula squeezed her eyes shut and curled into a ball, pressing her back against the door. No. She couldn't let herself think like that. She--

"Azula!"

Her father was calling her. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she stood and unlocked her door. She kept her face as neutral as she could as she walked downstairs and into the living room. Nothing looked broken, or even damaged in a way that could've caused the huge crash she heard. Weird. Wait -- no. The coffee table was in a different place, as if it were covering something up. Azula tried not to think too hard about it, or about where Zuko was now.

"Father!" She greeted when she entered the kitchen, where her father was leaning over the kitchen island and gripping the edge of the counter as if he was trying to rip it off. "Where's Zuko?" She dared to ask, trying to sound casual. At times like this, it was hard to know what to say or not to say without setting her father off again, but she just needed to know something, anything, about what had just happened.

"He left," he spat. "For good."

A shiver went through Azula at what that could mean, but she didn't react outwardly. A vivid memory came to her of just before her father had come home, when she'd spilled that bottle of nail polish on her floor. All that red, spreading over the ground.

"Okay," Azula said blankly, knowing that too strong a reaction one way or another would likely only direct her father's anger at her. Even now he was watching her, his eyes still throwing sparks, like he was waiting for her to say something else so he could get the rest of his anger out. Azula just studied her shoes and pretended she didn't feel his gaze, waiting for the moment to dissolve and the subject to change. 

Eventually, her father sighed. "It's getting late. How about we order takeout for dinner tonight? I don't particularly feel like cooking." Azula looked up to see that he was smiling. The danger was passing.

Azula murmured her agreement. She was quiet while they waited for the food to arrive, only making the smallest of small talk as they ate. As soon as she was done, she excused herself and went to her room, grabbing her phone. She thought about texting Zuko, but hesitated. What would she even say? Would Zuko even read her message? Did he even have his phone? Her hands shook as she stared at the Message icon. She shook her head and opened it, but decided to text Ty Lee instead.

[Hey. Can I come over tomorrow?]

Ty Lee's response came only seconds later. [totally!!! maybe you could help me figure out this chem assignment haha]

The tiniest of smiles crossed Azula's face. For one horrible, selfish moment, she let herself be grateful that her father had discovered Zuko's relationship before he'd discovered hers. She was still safe with her soulmate.

~~~~~

Ty Lee's house was only a few blocks away, so Azula's father didn't comment when she told him she was walking over there on Sunday morning. She headed out the door with her backpack over her shoulder and slipped a pair of red sunglasses onto her face. The day was bright and beautiful, and warm for so early in the spring. Azula found herself rolling up the sleeves of her black sweater by the time she was at Ty Lee's door. She knocked, and the door opened seconds later.

Azula had been looking forward to seeing her soulmate's bright smile, but Ty Lee's face was solemn as she opened the door, her gray eyes wide and worried. "I just heard about Zuko," she said softly, stepping out and pulling Azula into a gentle hug. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

Azula shrank away from Ty Lee's embrace, cursing internally. She'd come over here today so she wouldn't have to think about it. Fear for both herself and her brother was already driving her crazy. All she wanted right now was to lose herself in gossip and science questions and those terrible CW shows that Ty Lee loved so much. "I don't really want to talk about it," she said stiffly, placing a hand on Ty Lee's arm so the other girl would let her go. 

Ty Lee sighed as she pulled away, crossing her arms as she and Azula walked further into the house. "You know it's unhealthy to bottle things up, Azula. What happened must've been pretty scary. There's nothing wrong with--"

"I know," Azula snapped. They had this conversation every time Azula's father did something messed up, which was pretty frequently. Azula did love Ty Lee, but it was easy to get annoyed of her little therapist routine. Still, Azula softened when she saw the hurt in Ty Lee's gaze. "I'm sorry. I'll talk to the counselor or something at school tomorrow," she promised. Empty words, of course. If her father ever found out she'd told anybody what he was like...Azula's stomach dropped just thinking about it. Besides, she didn't need anybody to talk to. She had her ways of coping. She was _fine_. 

This seemed to pacify Ty Lee. Her expression relaxed from a frown into a gentler version of her normal effervescent smile. "Thank you. I'll take you myself if you want," she offered. 

But Azula was already shaking her head."I'll be fine, but thanks," she answered. Eager to get the focus off of herself, she asked, "So how'd you find out about what happened, anyway?" She really didn't want to talk about last night, but she was curious.

"This girl on the squad, Suki. She and Sokka are pretty good friends, so she knew the whole story. Apparently Sokka was really freaked out. Suki said she just wished she could've been there when he and his other friends took Zuko to the hospital--"

"He's in the _hospital_?" Azula asked, shock and dread welling up inside her.

"You didn't know?" Ty Lee asked in response, clearly confused. "Where were you when all this was happening, anyway?"

"I was--" Azula absolutely couldn't say she was hiding. That sounded so pathetic. "I was listening to music. Loudly. I didn't even know my dad was home yet. They were all the way downstairs," she said instead. She knew she was putting too much detail into the lie, but whatever. "Just...this isn't important right now. Did Suki know what actually happened to him?"

Ty Lee shook her head. "It wasn't really clear, especially since she wasn't with everybody else. All I know is that Zuko's glasses got broken at some point. Apparently Sokka wouldn't let go of them."

Azula knew very little about Sokka. From what she'd seen of him in the hallways and on the rare occasion she'd gone to football games, she'd pretty much had him pegged as a classic dumb jock. He talked loudly, laughed often, and was always surrounded by an entourage of other students, mostly younger. He never really seemed bothered by anything. It was like everything was a big joke to him. The fact that he was supposedly sentimental enough, caring enough, to carry around Zuko's dumb glasses after knowing him for all of a day...well, it definitely made Azula see him in a new light. Maybe she needed to stop doing the whole snap-judgement thing whenever she met somebody new.

Or maybe what happened to Zuko was just so terrible that Sokka had needed something to hold onto. For comfort.

The expression on Azula's face must have really shown her shock, because Ty Lee looked worried again. She reached out and took Azula's hand. "I'm sorry. I thought you knew all this."

"Don't worry about it," Azula answered with a dismissive shake of her head. _You should've known. You should've reached out. You're a terrible sister_ , the voice in her head whispered, but she blocked it out as best she could. "Anyway, you said you needed help with chemistry?"

"Azula--"

"I'm done talking about this." Azula's voice came out harsher than she meant it to. Guilt flared in her mind at the way Ty Lee shrank away from her, but she didn't apologize. It would sound insincere anyway. "Can we please just go upstairs and start working?"

Ty Lee just sighed. "Sure. Whatever you want." She turned and led the way upstairs, Azula trailing behind her. Azula breathed a sigh of relief. Thank god that was over. 

Once they were upstairs in Ty Lee's room, though, Azula pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Zuko before she could talk herself out of it.

[Hey. Are you alright?]

When she left Ty Lee's house five hours later, she still hadn't gotten a response.

~~~~~

On Monday morning, Azula camped outside of Zuko's first-period English class, waiting for him to walk down the hall. She had no idea what she'd say if she actually saw him. "Glad you're okay"? "Sorry for not helping you"? "Sorry that our father found out about you and Sokka before he found out about me and Ty Lee"? Jesus. Azula was relieved when he didn't show up and she didn't have to talk to him -- at the same time, though, her worry doubled. Was he still not out of the hospital?

It wasn't until she was about to be late that Azula headed out of the English wing. As she walked into her own first-period math class, she spotted Sokka's sister by the window. Despite the classes they shared and the amount of times she got called on by the teacher, Azula could not for the life of her remember the girl's name. Kanna? Korra? Azula knew it started with a K.

Whatever her name was, she was fiddling with that little necklace she always wore. Azula noticed that she did that whenever she seemed stressed; on big test days, whenever she got an answer wrong after the teacher called on her, whenever Azula looked at her the wrong way (which she may or may not do on purpose sometimes -- it was fun to mess with people). Azula couldn't help but wonder what was bothering her, and if it had anything to do with either of their brothers.

Azula made a mental note to look for Sokka in the halls and see how he looked. He didn't strike her as the type of person who was very good at hiding his emotions. If he was still worried about whatever it was that happened on Saturday night, she'd probably be able to tell.

Of course, she could always just ask him. She was Zuko's sister. She had a right to know what had happened to him.

But she had so many reasons to not ask. For one thing, she didn't hadn't been kind to Sokka and his friends in the past. She hadn't done anything terrible, of course, but there were all those times she tried to freak Katara -- aha! She remembered his sister's name! -- out in class. And there was that time she heard the blind freshman girl making fun of the way Ty Lee talked, so she walked into her on purpose a couple times in the hallway to get revenge. And she just really didn't like that kid with the buzzcut. He was too cheery, but not in a fun way, like Ty Lee. So Sokka might not want to tell her anything.

For another thing, did she even _want_ to know what happened? She knew it was bad. She knew Zuko wasn't coming back home. Were the rest of the details even relevant? All she'd really do by asking was scare herself. It was already hard enough to be normal in her father's presence.

And lastly, did she really deserve to learn? It wasn't like she'd done anything to help Zuko then. It wasn't like she was capable of helping him now. Honestly, half the reason she was even curious was so she could get a grasp on what her father was really capable of, so she could help herself in the future. It felt untruthful for her to act all concerned. 

Azula broke from her internal tirade to realize that the entire class was staring at her, including the teacher. The pen she used to take notes had been resting against the same spot on the page for an unknown number of minutes, the ink pooling on the paper below it. The teacher must've asked a question and noticed Azula zoning out. Her cheeks burned. How embarrassing.

"Are you feeling okay, Miss Ozai?" The teacher asked, her voice tinged with genuine sympathy. Weird. Had Azula's father told the school something? She steered herself away from speculating further about it and nodded in response to her teacher, asking if she could repeat the question she'd asked. The teacher did, and Azula answered, not even really caring about whether she was right or wrong.

Katara was still staring at her, even though everybody else had turned away. As Azula looked back at her, she looked away and pulled out her phone, pulling out her phone and texting discreetly under her desk. Who the hell was she talking to? What was she saying? Suddenly, Azula was fighting the urge to both flee the room and go slap the phone out of Katara's hand. She made another mental note to herself: leave the class as soon as possible once it ended, and avoid Katara until all this drama was over. This was all officially getting to be too much.

Her plans were immediately dashed once the class ended, though. She was mere feet away from the door when a hand grabbed her shoulder gently, and she turned to find herself eye-to-eye with Katara.

"Sokka's taking us off-campus for lunch," she told Azula. "You should come."

Azula could think of a lot of reasons to say no. She'd be alone with a bunch of people who probably actively disliked her, lunch with Ty Lee was always the best part of her day, and she didn't even think sophomores were technically allowed off-campus during their lunch period. Still, when she opened her mouth to speak, all that came out was, "Where are we going?"

"I'm not sure. I just...Sokka thinks we should talk to you about some stuff. We're meeting at the steps by the science wing, so just be there," Katara answered. Before Azula could ask anything else, Katara ducked around her and rushed off down the hall.

Azula ate lunch during third period, and she knew that Katara and the others did, too. She only had one class to prepare for whatever they were planning on talking to her about.

She'd never felt less hungry in her life.


	5. lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the gang takes azula to a tea shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry for the lack of updates!!! i tried to start a different project and it just didn't pan out, so i kind of lost focus on this for a bit. good to be back, though!!
> 
> trigger warnings: brief description of eye trauma

Sokka could think of one word to describe the way most trips off-campus for lunch were:  _ loud _ . Every car ride was a wonderful cacophony of Aang relating some funny story or another from his morning classes, Toph and Katara fighting for control of the music, and everybody piping up with different suggestions for where to eat.

This, however, was not a normal trip off-campus.

Nobody had clamored for shotgun as they approached Sokka's car; quite the opposite, Katara, Aang, and Toph seemed quite content to huddle in the backseat, leaving Azula to ride up front next to Sokka. Nobody suggested a place to eat -- they knew Sokka had something in mind. Nobody even asked to put on any music. The car was quiet, save for the robotic voice of Sokka's GPS as it guided him to where they were going. Suki wasn't even here. She normally tagged along whenever they made these trips, but she had gotten really quiet and said she had to study for a biology test when Sokka asked her to come today.

He didn't want to stare, but he couldn't help but steal glances at Azula when they came to red lights or stop signs. Her appearance was as neat as it had been any other time Sokka had seen her. Her clothes all matched perfectly, and her hair was pulled back into a tight, shiny ponytail. Nonetheless, something seemed different about her. It was like her organization had been taken a step further than normal. She was sitting up perfectly straight in her seat, golden eyes that were so similar to Zuko's fixed unblinking on the road ahead. She looked so uncomfortable. Then again, Sokka reasoned, she was in a car surrounded by people she barely knew, and she didn't know where they were going. That would make anybody uncomfortable.

Sokka actually jumped when his GPS broke the silence. That's how tense things were. "Your destination is on the left," his phone announced. Sokka let out a tiny, relieved sigh as he pulled carefully into a parallel parking spot. Maybe everybody could relax a little once they were inside. However, when he looked over to Azula, he saw that she was only sitting more stiffly (if that was even possible) and staring up at the sign above the little cafe they were parked in front of. 

A winding green silhouette twisted itself around elegant white lettering, welcoming them to The Jasmine Dragon.

"So," Sokka said too brightly, prompting four sets of eyes to turn to him. "Who's hungry?"

"I know I am," Aang answered, matching Sokka's cheery tone. But even his smile was looking a little strained. Azula shot them both a dubious look that seemed to make Katara tense. 

"Well, let's go eat, then. Whenever you're all done being weird," Toph said dryly, unbuckling her seatbelt and slapping a hand to her stomach.

"Fair enough," Sokka mumbled. He turned off the car and got out, opening the car door for Toph and waiting for everybody to get out before leading the way into the shop. The inside was warm and cozy, with potted plants all over the place and a faint scent of something sweet in the air. Vanilla, maybe? 

They seemed to have gotten there right at the lunch rush. There weren't any tables left that would've accommodated all five of them, but luckily, there were two large, squashy sofas free in the corner. Sokka and Toph flanked Azula on one, while Katara and Aang took the other. Aang, Katara, and Azula all grabbed menus, but Sokka stared across the cafe. Was the person he was here to see even around?

Ah. That had to be him. Sokka stood and approached a table in the opposite corner, where a bearded man in a green shirt emblazoned with the Jasmine Dragon's logo sat sipping from a mug that looked much nicer than the cups the other customers had. "Excuse me, are you the owner? Mr. Ozai?"

The man smiled kindly up at Sokka, who couldn't help but notice how tired he looked. "Please, call me Iroh," he said. "Who might you be?"

"My name is Sokka. I'm your nephew's soulmate," Sokka answered. The change in Iroh's expression was dramatic and immediate; concern, understanding, and anger mingled in his gaze as he stared up at Sokka. Sokka looked away, shoulders tensing. Was Iroh angry at _him_ for what had happened to Zuko? Maybe this whole thing was a terrible idea.

"I see," Iroh said after a long moment. He looked as if he had more to say, but he kept quiet, electing instead to take another sip of his tea.

Sokka figured he'd better explain himself before this got any more awkward. "So, um, I'm here with a few of mine and Zuko's friends. And Azula." Iroh raised his eyebrows at that, but didn't interject. "I was just hoping we could maybe talk about what happened on Saturday night. And, well, what's going to happen now. Just so everybody knows what's going on. I'm -- I mean, we're all really worried."

Iroh drained his mug and stood. "That sounds like a great idea. Now, where are you sitting?"

Sokka led him back over to the couches, flagging down a waiter along the way so they could all actually have lunch. Katara and Aang were already scooting closer to each other so Iroh could sit, and Azula was gripping her menu so tightly that the paper was crumpling in her hands. 

Once everybody had ordered their food, all eyes turned to Iroh. "Why did you bring me here?" Azula hissed to Sokka, which caught Iroh's attention.

"Azula, really. Whatever disagreements your father and I have had, I still care about you and your brother. I'm not your enemy here," Iroh chided her gently.

"Disagreements? You nearly ruined his career!" Azula scoffed.

"Sorry, is this relevant? I thought we were here to talk about Zuko," Toph piped up.

"Right you are, Toph. Good to see you again, by the way," Iroh responded with a smile. 

"I'd say it's good to see you, too, but..." Toph and Iroh shared a chuckle at that. Sokka was confused for a moment, until he remembered that Toph was basically the entire reason they were here. Of course she and Iroh knew each other already.

"I'm Katara, and this is Aang. We were both at the party when Sokka and Zuko realized...well, you know. I'm Sokka's sister," Katara chimed in, sticking out a hand for Iroh to shake. He did, a wary look in his eye at her enthusiasm.

"So how is Zuko, anyway? Have you seen him?" Aang asked, now that introductions were all out of the way. 

Tiredness seemed to overtake Iroh once again. His shoulders slumped and he let out a heavy sigh before he replied. "When I'm not here, I'm at the hospital with him. He's...I suppose it could be worse, all things considered. He has a moderate concussion, but the biggest problem is his eye. A large piece of glass got stuck in it, which left a deep scratch. The doctors were able to get the glass out, but now the cut's infected. Zuko was never very good at cleaning his glasses." Despite the somberness of everything Iroh was saying, a wistful smile came briefly to his face as he recalled this detail. "They'll be able to treat the infection, but it's possible -- likely, actually -- that his vision on that side won't fully recover."

Azula stood abruptly. "I'm going to wait in the car," she announced, her tone clipped and her hands clenched into fists. 

"Azula--" Sokka tried to call her back, but she was already out the door. Frowning, he turned back to Iroh. "I'm sorry. I didn't know there was such bad blood between you two."

Iroh shrugged. "It's not your fault. It's not entirely hers, either. My brother...well, there are some people in this world who just shouldn't be parents, and I believe he's one of them. I only wish Azula could accept the fact that her father is capable of making mistakes."

The silence that followed those words was heavy, in stark contrast to the chatter filling the rest of the cafe. It was broken only when the waiter finally returned with everybody's food. Iroh quietly asked for a takeout box for the salad Azula had ordered.

Sokka picked at his sandwich for a moment before asking the question he was most curious about. "So, what's Zuko gonna do now? He won't go back with his dad, will he? He can stay with me if he wants, I just--"

Iroh cut him off by raising his hand. "He'll be moving in with me. My apartment is just upstairs. It's taken care of," he assured Sokka. Relief filled Sokka at those words, and he smiled, sinking a bit deeper into the sofa.

The conversation turned a bit more lighthearted after that. Aang asked what Zuko was like as a little kid, which led to some very funny stories, and one of Iroh's cats made an appearance at one point. By the time Katara checked her phone and announced they should probably get back to school, Sokka found himself not wanting to leave. He reminded himself that if Zuko was going to be living here now, he could probably visit a lot. As he started fishing for his keys, though, another thought occurred to him. He stared out at his car, where he could just make out Azula's silhouette in the passenger's seat. 

"Hey, do you guys think you could find another ride?" He asked. "There's something else I gotta do."

"Sokka, what are you thinking?" Katara asked, crossing her arms. "You know if you ditch school, Dad will--"

"Oh, come on, what's he gonna do from all the way across the country? As long as I'm not still suspended by the time his business trip is over, I'm golden." Sokka laughed, picking up the box with Azula's salad in it. "Besides, I'll be back before fifth period. I promise. Just go on without me, or you guys will get in trouble, too."

Mumbling to herself, Katara pulled out her phone and called an Uber.

~~~~~

They were all idiots, Azula decided. Stupid Iroh and his fake pity. Stupid Sokka and his half-baked plans. Stupid, nosy Katara. She hated them all, and she hated that she was here instead of off at lunch with Ty Lee and Mai, making fun of everybody else and forgetting about her awful weekend.

It's not like she even _wanted_ to know what had happened to Zuko. She would've been much better off not knowing about his dumb eye or the fact that he was still in the hospital. Now her brain couldn't stop making up stories about exactly what had happened while she was locked in her room. Each of them was worse than the last, but they all ended the same: with blood running from her brother's eye. She could see that image so clearly in her mind that she could almost feel it running down her own face, warm and wet.

Then she realized she wasn't imagining it. There really was something on her face. She swiped at her eyes, terrified, only to relax when her fingers came away stained black instead of red. She wasn't bleeding, she was merely crying off her eyeliner. That would be embarrassing if anybody saw, but she could just fix it before Sokka and his band of morons were back in the car.

She was just pulling out her makeup wipes from her bag when the car door opened. She expected all four of the other kids to pile into the car, but it was just Sokka, carrying a box and looking at her with wide eyes. Despite her undoubtedly pathetic appearance, Azula noticed he still looked a little intimidated by her. Good.

"Hey, uh..." He thrust the box out at her. "You left before you could get your lunch."

Azula took the box and stared at it, then back up at Sokka as he settled himself back in the driver's seat. "Thank you," she said carefully. Her voice was disgusting; it sounded so shaky and weak. She cleared her throat before she spoke again. "So where's everybody else?"

Sokka's expression turned sheepish as he started the car. "I told them to find another ride. I kind of wanted to talk to you. Would you be cool missing your next class?"

He wanted her to _ditch_? Was he insane? As if her dad needed another reason to get upset. 

Then again, she did have a study hall next period, and it was a nice day. If anybody asked, she could just say she'd been reading in the school courtyard or something. Her dad would never even have to know. And besides, she was curious to hear what Sokka had to say. "I don't see why not," she finally answered, opening her takeout box so she could eat.

"Okay. Cool," Sokka murmured, seemingly more to himself than Azula. With that, he started to drive.

He was quiet as they made their way back through town, letting Azula eat in peace. After ten minutes or so, he pulled up to the edge of the beach. When Azula looked over at him in confusion, he simply shrugged and said, "Coming here helps me think."

"I can't argue with that, I suppose," Azula muttered, setting down the now-empty takeout box and crossing her arms. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Sokka took a deep breath, staring out at the waves. "I wanted to say sorry for springing this on you. It's pretty obvious that being at the Jasmine Dragon and seeing your uncle freaked you out. That wasn't what I was trying to do. I just thought you'd probably want to know a bit more about, I don't know, your brother's whole situation. Just to make sure all of us who care about him are on the same page, I guess."

"Well, you thought wrong," Azula snapped. "And you care about him? Please. You two met on Friday."

"Well, yeah, but he's my s--"

"Yes, your soulmate, trust me, I know." Azula rolled her eyes. "But that doesn't change the fact that you hardly know him. If you only care about somebody because the universe or biology or whatever tells you you're supposed to, then you don't actually care about them at all." She almost added something about the months it took her to fall for Ty Lee even after they'd learned they were soulmates, but caught herself. That was none of Sokka's business.

"But I want to know him, because I know he's supposed to be special to me. And someday, I know I am gonna care about him for real. Don't you feel the same about whoever your soulmate is?" Sokka asked.

Azula's heart practically stopped. "Who says I know who it is?" She answered too quickly.

Sokka blinked. "I didn't mean it like that. I was talking, like, hypothetically, you know?" A pause. Azula knew what he was thinking, and silently begged him not to ask the question she knew he wanted to. Of course, he asked it anyway. "So _do_ you know who it is?"

"I don't have to tell you that," Azula sneered.

"You don't. Sorry," Sokka said, looking back out at the ocean. Azula did the same, her anxiety mildly soothed by the swirling waves. They looked more green than blue today, and the calmer water further from the shore glittered prettily in the sun. She was almost relaxed until Sokka spoke again. "So, this is probably another sensitive subject, but since Zuko's apparently gonna be living with your uncle now, I gotta know. What did you mean when you said Iroh almost ruined your dad's career?"

Sokka was right: that was a sensitive subject. But Azula figured he'd ask one invasive question after another until he got answers, so she might as well explain. "Father drafted a bill a few years ago that relaxed certain workplace restrictions, and it ended up passing into law. Iroh's son died in an accident that he thinks wouldn't have happened if not for the new law, so he tried to take Father to court, since he drafted the bill. If Father lost, he might've had to give up his Senate seat. As it was, he had to pay Iroh a lot of money in order to convince him to drop the case. How do you think he got his little tea shop started?"

"Wow," Sokka said softly. "I'm sorry about your cousin dying, though."

Azula waved him off. "I barely knew him. Besides, a ton of businesses were helped by the new law, according to my father, so that's a good thing, right?"

"I guess." Sokka didn't look convinced. 

Azula sighed. She was about to say something that was maybe a little too sappy, but it probably needed to be said before Sokka decided she was truly a terrible person. "Look, I know Iroh cares about us. And Zuko will probably be happier living with him than he was with Father and I. But my father's a good person. He's helping make this country better. And I understand why Iroh doesn't see it like that, but I have to support my father. It's the right thing to do."

Sokka leaned back in his seat. "I guess I get that. I mean, I don't really agree, but I get it."

"Well, that's good. Also, by the way, I accept your apology from earlier," Azula answered. Maybe Sokka wasn't such an idiot after all, even if his friends were.

Sokka chuckled. "Okay. I'm glad. We should probably go back to school now, huh?"

"Definitely," Azula agreed.

The drive back to school was short and quiet. Azula managed to fix her eyeliner by the time they got back. Sokka pulled into a parking spot and turned the car off, and Azula caught him glancing over to her as she unbuckled her seatbelt. "Thanks for lunch," she said as she opened the door.

"Don't mention it. Thanks for talking to me," Sokka responded.

Azula actually found herself smiling as she climbed the steps to the school, feeling ever so slightly more relaxed than she'd been all weekend. Zuko was going to live with Iroh, and as it turned out, his soulmate seemed like an understanding and genuine person. Whatever else was going on, she felt secure in the knowledge that her brother was going to be okay.


	6. seeing you again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> zuko gets some visitors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHEW another big gap between chapters. honestly, updates will probably just be a little slower from here on out. i start my freshman year of college tomorrow (yay) so writing time has gotten scarcer as i get adjusted. mark my words, though, i WILL finish this fic!

Zuko didn't remember much about that first bit of time in the hospital. He remembered the blur of Sokka's face falling further into the distance as the nurses wheeled Zuko away. Harsh lights fading into a dreamless black void of sleep. Shivering and sweating under scratchy hospital blankets. Mostly, he remembered how badly his eye hurt.

It still hurt when Zuko woke up with an actual sense of where he was for the first time in what was probably days. The first thing he noticed was how dry his mouth was. The second was the way the sunlight streamed through the window in his white-walled room It could've been nine in the morning or three in the afternoon for all he knew. There was a clock on the wall, but everything was still too blurry for Zuko to make it out. He habitually reached to push his glasses up, but only succeeded in poking himself in the bridge of the nose. With a gentle sigh at his own weird brain, he started to pull his hand away, but something stopped him. A strange feeling. He reached up again and touched the same spot on his nose, stiffening slightly when he touched something thin and plasticky. His fingers moved left, over toward his cheekbone, but they brushed cotton instead of skin. A gauzy bandage was taped over his eye.

When Zuko thought back to Saturday night, he couldn't remember much of the argument or anything after it. One thing he did remember, though, was how concerned Sokka seemed about the possibility of him having a concussion. He could still hear the other boy's voice, gently commanding him to stay awake. Zuko hadn't even considered that a concussion might not be the biggest of his problems.

Just as Zuko was starting to panic over the fate of his eye, the sound of approaching footsteps pulled his attention to the door. He was expecting to see a nurse, but no -- even with only one eye even kind of functioning, he'd recognize that beard and green shirt anywhere.

"Iroh," he breathed.

"Zuko. You're awake." Iroh sounded as relieved as Zuko felt. Which again begged the question of how long Zuko had been out. Iroh had always been something of a worrier, but when he got concerned, it was always for good reason. And with how happy he sounded to see Zuko aware of his surroundings, he must've been _really_ concerned.

"Yeah." Zuko sat up a little taller. He cleared his throat, hoping to dispel some of the dryness in his throat. It didn't work. "Um, what time is it? And could I have some water?"

"Of course," Iroh answered, setting down something he'd carried into the room and turning to a pitcher of water that Zuko hadn't noticed was there. He poured some into a Styrofoam cup and passed it to Zuko as he answered his other question. "It's about quarter after two." he paused and sighed, as if reluctant to keep speaking. "On Wednesday afternoon."

Zuko nearly choked. "I've been out for four days?!"

A grimace crossed Iroh's hazy features. "More or less. You were awake for some of it, but you had quite a fever." He explained about the infection in Zuko's eye, along with the concussion. A growing sense of dread settled in Zuko's stomach at his uncle's grave tone. His fears were essentially confirmed when Iroh finally revealed that Zuko's vision would more than likely be permanently affected.

"Do you think I'll still be able to drive?" He asked. It was a dumb question, he knew, but he'd finally gotten his license just two months ago. Besides, worrying about trivial stuff like that would keep his mind off his bigger concerns. Hopefully.

Iroh chuckled. "I don't see why not. Your other eye still works just fine when your glasses are on, and you'll still be able to see some things, even with your injury. You'll just have to make some adjustments."

Adjustments. Zuko had a feeling he'd be making some of those in other areas of his life, too. 

"How about schoolwork?" He asked. After all, he'd been gone from school for three days. Half the school week. And he was sure to miss more. Plus, it was March, so he'd only just heard back from most of the colleges he applied to. He'd gotten into his top choice, and it would crush him if they ended up reversing his acceptance once his end-of-year transcript revealed how much work he missed.

But Iroh just waved that question off. "Just focus on recovery. I've let the school know what's going on. The doctors don't want you trying to do too much work for another few weeks, anyway. Your concussion has to heal first."

"Alright. So when can I--" Zuko cut himself off suddenly, casting his gaze down at the blankets and biting the inside of his cheek. He'd been about to ask when he could go home, but where even was home anymore? It truly hit him just then: he wasn't welcome anymore in his own house. Not in his own room, the room he'd slept in for eighteen years, full of his collected candles and memories. Not in the bathroom where he and Azula had stood in the mirror, getting ready for that fateful party a mere five days ago. Not anywhere, because it was technically his father's house and his father had decided that he didn't belong there. Angry tears gathered in his eyes, making the left one burn even more, but he didn't let them fall.

Iroh must have known what he wanted to say, because he reached out and put a gentle hand on Zuko's shoulder. "You can move in with me. I have an extra room. It's fine." 

Zuko's self-control slipped. A stray tear spilled from his uncovered eye, and his shoulders began to shake. "Thank you," he choked out. Iroh said nothing, just pulled him into a hug. 

Zuko only pulled away once he'd calmed down some, then turned his attention to the table where the water pitcher was. He tried to make out the object that Iroh had carried into the room, but it was too small and too far away. "What is that?" He asked, pointing at it. "Not the water pitcher, I mean, the thing next to it."

Iroh blinked, like he'd forgotten he brought it in, and passed it to Zuko. His glasses case. He opened it, and sure enough, the shattered left lens of his glasses stared back at him. The frames and right lens seemed unharmed, though, so he picked the glasses up and put them on, blinking rapidly as the world sharpened around him. Seeing through only one eye made him feel a bit lopsided, but it was nice to be able to focus on everything around him again. "Thanks," he said, managing a small smile at Iroh.

Iroh shrugged. "That boy Sokka was the one who held onto them, along with the rest of your things. You should be thanking him. Actually, you'll probably be able to, since I expect he'll want to see you as soon as I tell him you're awake." A teasing spark came into his eye. "The universe certainly chooses well, eh?"

Zuko shut the case and turned it over in his hands. "Yeah, I think it does."

~~~~~

Sokka should've been excited on the drive over to the hospital. Or maybe nervous. Instead, he was fuming.

Suki had avoided their group -- avoided  _ him  _ \-- all weekend and for most of Monday, but he'd really thought she'd been back to normal. She greeted him on Tuesday morning like she always did: by slinging an arm around his shoulders and complaining about a sexist group of guys on her bus. They'd eaten lunch together, and he'd taken her home at the end of the day, since she didn't have cheer practice. Sure, she got a bit of a sour look on her face whenever Sokka mentioned his worries about Zuko, but she was normal. She acted the same way on Wednesday: totally fine. That is, up until Sokka had said that she should come with him to see Zuko -- he'd gotten the call that he could go visit earlier in the day.

Suki told him she had cheer practice, which was a blatant lie. Not twenty minutes before, she'd asked him for another ride home that day. But she was already walking away (practically running, actually) by the time Sokka called her on it, so he had no idea why she'd even done it. Sokka didn't mind her not wanting to come along, honestly, he didn't. But why did she feel the need to lie about it?

And maybe Sokka was bothered a little bit more than he should've been, but ever since Yue left, Suki was the closest friend he had who was really  _ his  _ friend, and not Katara's. If she was intentionally trying to distance herself from him, he'd end up totally alone.

Well, alone except for Zuko.

A small smile crossed his face at the thought, and he stared up at the hospital. His anger at Suki hadn't vanished from his mind, but it was now burying itself beneath relief that Zuko was recovering and a faint buzz at the thought of seeing him. Sokka stepped out of the car and walked into the hospital, the buzz growing stronger the closer he got. What would he even say? How would Zuko react to seeing him? Should he have brought flowers or something? Oh, god, he really should've brought flowers.

He spoke briefly to the receptionist, who told him where Zuko's room was, and stopped off at the vending machine to buy two candy bars. He slipped one in his pocket to eat later, and held onto the other one to give to Zuko. Better than nothing, right?

Iroh was leaving Zuko's room as Sokka approached it. He said nothing, just gave Sokka a smile and a wink before carrying on past him. Sokka appreciated that. For some absurd reason, he kind of wanted it to be a surprise for Zuko to see him.

And then Sokka was in the doorway, staring at his soulmate. 

Zuko was staring out the window when Sokka came in, his bandaged eye facing the door, so as Sokka walked closer, all he said was, "Did you forget something, Uncle?" When he finally turned, the change in his demeanor was so immediate and complete that Sokka almost laughed. He sat up straighter, hurriedly pulling his blankets tighter over his legs. And was it Sokka's imagination, or was Zuko's face reddening? Sokka wanted to tell the poor guy to relax. Oh, well. At least he wasn't the only one unsure of how to act right now.

"Hey. I got you a chocolate bar," Sokka greeted stiffly, holding it out to Zuko. Zuko took it, but just stared at it for a minute, rather than unwrapping it. Yep, he was definitely going red.

"Thanks," Zuko said softly. "That was nice of you. And, um...it's nice that you're even here visiting me, honestly."

"Well, you know. I'm a nice person," Sokka joked. Zuko smiled faintly, fiddling with the edge of the candy bar's wrapper. Sokka smiled back and nodded to a chair beside Zuko's bed. "Can I sit down?"

Zuko nodded, and Sokka sat, pulling his own candy bar from his pocket and unwrapping it. "Oh, I see. And here I was, thinking I was special because you got me candy," Zuko said. Sokka looked up, terrified he'd offended the other boy, until he saw the teasing spark in Zuko's eye. 

"Hey, give me a break, I barely ate lunch," Sokka countered with a short laugh, taking a bite of chocolate. 

"No judgement here," Zuko assured him. He finally unwrapped his own chocolate, and as creepy as it was, Sokka was mildly fascinated watching him eat. Zuko broke the bar into separate rectangles, then broke those into fussy little squares that he ate one by one. It was a whole process, and it was actually kind of endearing. Sokka smiled as he kept eating.

They ate in silence until the chocolate was gone, and Sokka took Zuko's wrapper to throw out. "So I heard you're gonna be staying with your uncle now?" He asked. It was just an effort to make conversation, but he could tell by Zuko's expression that it was the wrong thing to say.

"Yeah. But do you mind if we not talk about...all that stuff? Right now, at least?" Zuko asked.

"Of course. My bad. Totally fine," Sokka answered with a nod, lowering back into his chair. A moment passed in increasingly uncomfortable silence. "So, then, what  _ do  _ you wanna talk about?"

That little smile reappeared on Zuko's face. "Well, I had kind of a dumb idea. Do you wanna play 20 Questions?"

Sokka laughed. "20 Questions?"

Zuko shrugged, looking sheepish. "I don't know, I mean, I wanna get to know you. And this is a way for me to ask you a lot of questions in a row without it being super weird, so..."

"Fair enough," Sokka said. "So, question one. What's your favorite color?"

Zuko tilted his head. "Honestly, I forget most of the color names. I haven't had much of an opportunity to learn them yet." Sokka mentally cursed himself for asking such a dumb question. "But I like fire colors. I know yellow is one of those, and maybe...red?" Suddenly, his eye flitted up to stare directly into Sokka's, before looking away just as fast. "Blue's nice, too. Anyway, how about you?"

"I like blue, too, actually. And purple," Sokka answered.

"Hmm. Wait, which one's purple, again?" Zuko asked.

Sokka scanned the room around them, looking for something purple to show Zuko. Finally, he spotted a nurse in the hallway with a long, dyed ponytail flowing down her back. He moved out of his chair and onto the edge of Zuko's bed to make sure he'd be able to see her, then pointed the nurse out to him. "See that nurse? She's got purple hair."

"Oh. Neat." But Zuko wasn't looking at the nurse's hair. When Sokka turned back to him, Zuko's eye was fixed on Sokka, probably registering how close together they were. Something about his face seemed hesitant, like he was trying to decide whether to lean away or lean closer. Hurriedly, Sokka stood and settled back into his chair.

"Yeah. So, now you ask me."

"Okay." Zuko's face screwed up in concentration as he tried to think of a question. "Okay. When's your birthday?"

Sokka laughed. "July 25th. How about yours?"

"March 12th."

"Pisces. Nice," Sokka nodded. He didn't know anything at all about astrology (that was more Aang's thing), but it was fun to pretend he did. "What's your favorite...okay, I don't want to say food, that's basic. What's your favorite meal of the day?"

"Breakfast," Zuko answered with very little hesitation. "It's always so peaceful. It's nice to just wake up early and eat while you watch the sun come up, you know?"

"Oh, no, you're a morning person?" Sokka asked playfully. 

Zuko looked troubled. "Is that a problem for you?" 

"Oh, no, no, sorry, I was just teasing," Sokka answered hurriedly. "I'm just a huge night owl, so I thought it was kind of funny. Opposites attract and all that."

Zuko's expression relaxed, and the game continued. They got more and more sidetracked with every question, until they were essentially just telling each other random stories. Zuko was rather shy at first, but steadily grew more and more animated, especially whenever he talked about his uncle. One thing that Sokka noticed, though, was that as expressive as his voice was, his face stayed pretty composed. He rarely smiled, and Sokka didn't ever hear him laugh. Still, h e was a great storyteller, and he listened intently whenever Sokka was talking. It was nice.

Sokka was halfway through a story about the first time he and Katara went fishing together (and how she got a fish hook stuck in her hair) when the purple-haired nurse from earlier wheeled in a cart with Zuko's dinner. Sokka looked up and realized with a start that the sun was setting. Had he really been there that long?

"Oh, um..." Sokka fidgeted in his chair. "Look, I really don't want to, but I should probably go. I didn't realize how late it was getting." It was probably only about 6:00, but homework would probably take awhile, and he didn't want to be too dead on his feet tomorrow -- he wanted to have enough energy to visit Zuko again after school.

"Oh." Zuko seemed so crestfallen that Sokka almost wanted to stay, if only for one more question in their game. Still, he'd be back.

"Can I see you again tomorrow?" Sokka asked.

Zuko visibly brightened in a way that made Sokka's heart skip. Did he even realize how cute he was being? This was unfair. "Yeah, of course. Same time?" Zuko asked. 

Sokka smiled as he stood. "Yeah. Sounds good." He lingered by Zuko's bedside for a moment before turning to go. He was quickly stopped, though, by Zuko's hand sliding into his own.

Sokka turned back, feeling his face grow hot. Zuko was staring down at his blankets, clearly struggling with what to say. "I just...I'm excited for tomorrow. To keep playing 20 Questions," he said at last, another of those heart-wrenching tiny smiles crossing his face.

"Me too. I'll see you then," Sokka answered softly. Zuko released his hand, and Sokka turned away again, walking out of the room. His hand felt cooler now that Zuko's wasn't in it, and his mind kept drifting back to the game they'd played. It was amazing that he'd learned so much about Zuko in so short a time. The other boy had been smart to suggest a game like that. 

When Sokka got home, Katara was in the kitchen, angrily stirring a boiling pot of pasta. "You could've told me you were gonna be there for the whole freaking night. It was your turn to cook."

"Sorry. I didn't realize how late it was," Sokka answered.

"Whatever," she huffed. "You're doing the dishes." She turned the stove off and headed toward the sink to drain the pasta. Halfway there, she turned back to Sokka, her gaze a bit softer. "I understand, though. Getting to know your soulmate -- that's exciting, isn't it?"

"Totally. I can't wait to see him again." That last part part kind of slipped out with Sokka's permission, but whatever. It was the truth; in his mind, he was already back in the hospital with Zuko. He'd happily take on extra chores if it meant more time with him. Besides, he knew Katara wouldn't tease him. 

Much.

~~~~~

Azula strode down the hallway to her brother's room, heart thrumming in her chest. She felt silly for being so nervous. Visiting him in the hospital was the right thing to do, the sisterly thing to do. Besides, Mai and Ty Lee were downstairs waiting for her. Even if things went bad in some way, at least they'd be there for her afterwards.

As she approached Zuko's room, she was surprised to hear noise. At first she thought it was just a TV or something, but then she recognized the voice. It was Zuko's soulmate, Sokka. She couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but he was clearly telling some kind of story. Zuko said something in the dry tone he always used when he was being sarcastic, and Sokka laughed. Clearly, they were having fun. Maybe three was a crowd right now.

Azula hesitated. Then, she turned around and walked back to the elevator. She could always just come back later, she told herself.

In the back of her mind, she knew she wouldn't be able to work up the nerve.


End file.
